GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A turnaround hailed in media in the US and France as “dramatic” has seen former IMF head Dominique Levi-Strauss freed from house arrest on his own recognizance, as the credibility drops of the woman who says she was sexually assaulted by him. The judge, without making a public statement, has released Strauss-Kahn and agreed to return the $6 million in bail he posted, but the prosecution says it is not dropping the case.
Strauss-Kahn’s passport remains in the hands of US justice officials.
Links to other sites: CNN, Le Monde (Fr), Washington Post
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Sarah Shourd, 32, one of three hikers who were arrested by Iran in July 2009 for spying after they crossed into Iran from Iraq at an unmarked border, has been seen leaving prison, and it’s been confirmed on a web site run by the hikers’ family, that she was headed for the Swiss embassy in Teheran. Shourd was earlier today reported by Iranian public media to have been released. The US State Department told CNN that it could not confirm the information. The Swiss government, which represents American interests in Iran, has maintained its information blackout on the case.
Shourd has a medical condition that was there before her arrest but she has developed a lump in her breast according to her lawyer, and a judge in Teheran told Iranian television that she is being released for medical reasons.
Switzerland reportedly deposited $500,000 in bail for Shourd, according to the Iranian judge handling the case.
Her fiance, Shane Bauer, 28, and Josh Fattal, 28, remain in prison. Iran officials say they have indicted the hikers since investigations were completed recently. US officials say they believe the trio is innocent.
Mark Toner, acting US deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said at a 9 September briefing, when asked about the hikers, “our reaction is that we don’t know, frankly, what Iran is contemplating at this point. We have reached out through the Swiss protecting powers to try to find out more about this. Obviously, if this is—if this turns out to be true, this is terrific news. The hikers’ release is long overdue. And I would just stress that we hope that it’s all three hikers.”
Links to other sites: CNN, hikers’ families site and freethehikers on Facebook
Update 19:00 [Video] Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Max Goeldi, the Swiss businessman held by Libya for nearly two years on what eventually became charges for visa irregularities, flew home to Switzerland via Tunis late Sunday night, arriving at Zurich Airport at 01:20 for an emotional reunion with his family (TSR, Fre). Monday he gave a press conference, saying he was tired, but very happy, and that he remains unaware of any wrongdoing on his part that led to his detention.
His release signaled the end to a diplomatic standoff between Switzerland and Libya. Foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who flew back with him, publicly thanked Germany and Spain (Ger) for their help in ending the affair.
Their foreign ministers accompanied her for meetings with Libya’s foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, and his leader, Muammar Qadaffi.
Background, 13 June, GenevaLunch
Video SF: Goeldi arrives in Switzerland
Rashid Hamdani, left who was detained but for less time, with Max Goeldi, right, at the Swiss embassy in Tripoli in 2009
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss businessman Max Goeldi was released from prison in Libya Thursday 10 June, according to his lawyer, and he should be able to leave the country and return to Switzerland this weekend. He is staying in a hotel in Tripoli while paperwork for his departure is completed. TSR public television reached him at the hotel and he confirmed that he has been freed, but refused to comment otherwise. Bern has not commented either.
Goeldi is an ABB employee who has spent 692 days in prison in Libya on charges of visa irregularities, following his arrest which came soon after the arrest in Geneva of Hannibal Qadaffi, son of Libya’s leader.
Background, GenevaLunch
Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan were freed Wednesday 25 Novmber after 16 months in captivity in Somalia, where both say they were tortured physically and mentally. Lindhout described her ordeal by phone to the Globe & Mail, saying that in her mind she escaped to Vancouver. Both say their families paid ransoms to the groups who abducted them.
Links to other sites: Canadian TV video, Herald Sun, Australia
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Film director Roman Polanski’s request to be freed, while a demand from the United States for his extradition is pending, has been turned down by the Swiss Justice and Police ministry, reports AP, citing spokesperson Guido Falco, who could not be reached for confirmation. An official statement has not yet been issued.
The government reportedly believes there is a risk he will flee. Polanski was jailed following his arrest 26 September at Zurich Airport when he arrived for the Zurich Film Festival. Switzerland and the US have had an extradition treaty covering assistance in criminal matters since 1990. To be extraditable, an offense must be considered a penal crime in both countries.
